Happy Birthday, Felicity!: A Springtime Story

Summary: Happy Birthday, Felicity is a story from the “American Girls Collection.” This story is about a girl named Felicity and she is turning 10. She wants to have a party since her grandpa will be visiting. Her grandpa gives her a guitar that was her grandma’s because he trust her with great responsibilities. Felicity takes the guitar out and forgets it in the rain. Her parents and grandpa are disappointed in her. Felicity earns their trust back by acting bravely and catching the Governor’s soldiers stealing gunpowder. The story ends with Felicity walking into the parlor at her home and finding it decorated for her birthday party.
Personal reaction: When my girls were in elementary school we would read all of the American Girl stories. We enjoyed reading about little girls around their age, but during a different time period.
Class room extension ideas: 1) This book could be used to introduce the era of the late 1700’s.
2) This book could be used as a tool to learn about the colonies wanting their independence from Britain.

... This update is over the first six books about Felicity Merriman, a spunky young redhead in colonial America, in the dawn of the Revolutionary War. All six books were written by Valerie Tripp. Felicity lives in Virginia with her mother, father, and her little brother and sister. Her father is a shopkeeper, and his young apprentice lives with them as well - he is older than Felicity, but they become good friends. Felicity also befriends a girl her age whose family of Loyalists comes over from England. Felicity's family are Patriots, and this difference does cause some tension between the girls at one point. ...

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http://herebebookwyrms.blogspot.com/2011/08/felicity-american-girl.html ( )

This is one of my classroom library doubles. This is a story about how Felicity deals with some of the pre-revolutionary war tensions that are arising in Williamsburg and with her family and friends. Felicity both loses her grandfather’s trust by leaving her guitar in the rain, and earns it back again by alerting the people of Williamsburg that the militia’s gunpowder was stolen. She ends the book with a very happy birthday. “A Peek Into the Past.” ( )

There's a nice touch in the fourth book of the American Girls: Felicity series: Felicity does something totally boneheaded. I mean, despite her "spunky, spritely" qualities, she pulls an absent minded stunt that any nine-year-old might do. Other than that, the story has little that rates a comment. (Well, I do wonder if her family's kitchen helper is an employee or property. Slavery is only mentioned in passing in this series.) 'Tis a simple, predictable tale with a happy ending. It's nice waiting room material, like its predecessors.
--J. ( )

This is a story about how Felicity deals with some of the pre-revolutionary war tensions that are arising in Williamsburg and with her family and friends. Felicity both loses her grandfather’s trust by leaving her guitar in the rain, and earns it back again by alerting the people of Williamsburg that the militia’s gunpowder was stolen. She ends the book with a very happy birthday. “A Peek Into the Past.” ( )